Our Favorite Places for Christmas Shopping in Porto

Porto has a wide selection of locally made, beautiful products you can gift for the holidays. From olive oils made on farms that have been in the same family for generations, to prints and jewelry made by current local artists, there’s a lot to shop for here.

We are an American family living in Porto. We’re constantly discovering new stores and answering our visitors’ questions about what to buy and where to shop! We love sharing our recommendations so you can find just the right gifts.

In this article, you’ll find our favorite places for Christmas shopping in Porto, from what to shop for at local Christmas markets, to the best food and wine gifts, to our favorite boutiques and gift stores for other locally made products.

Whether you’re an expat trying to finish your Christmas shopping or a visitor trying to pack up a little piece of Portugal to share once you are home, these are the best places to Christmas shop in Porto.

This article may contain affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if a reader clicks through and makes a purchase. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. All our recommendations are our own and are in no way influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative.

Christmas Shopping in Porto

Thinking about Christmas shopping for gifts while in Porto? Here’s what to look for and where to find it in downtown Porto. Check out our article on celebrating Christmas in Porto.

Christmas Markets

As smaller Christmas markets pop up across the city, from church basements to São Bento station, you’ll have a lot of opportunities to pick up Christmas gifts. These markets are great for less expensive, local products, though you’ll find some mass-produced items mixed in as well.

We have a guide to the Christmas markets around Porto, so you can head to the ones most likely to have what you need.

Some craft items to look for in markets include:

Cork Goods

Cork has traditionally been an important industry in Portugal, and it still supplies more than 50% of the world’s cork. You can learn more about cork at the WOW’s Planet Cork Museum.

Look for wallets, bags, coasters, ornaments, and even eyeglass cases made from Portuguese cork. These are lightweight, durable, easy to pack, and make great stocking stuffers.

Ceramics & Pottery

Porto has a thriving ceramics scene. Cups, plates, small bowls, and vases make great gifts and are usually very affordable. Individual artisans set up booths at the markets.

Jewelry

The Christmas markets are full of vendors selling jewelry at low to mid-range prices. You’ll find all sorts of materials and styles. I’ve bought earrings for 10€ and admired earrings for 100€.

Artisanal Soaps & Candles

Many local artists make soaps and candles using ingredients like olive oil, lavender, or eucalyptus. You’ll find cute shapes, naughty shapes, and pretty bowls with flowers in the wax.

Prints and Photographs

You’ll find artists setting up booths with their prints and original artwork. Some also sell postcards and tea towels with their designs. Some of these images are directly related to Porto, others are more general themes or patterns.

Food & Wine Gifts

Porto has a wide selection of food and wine items to give as gifts. You’ll find Port wine, “regular” wine, including sparkling, and Vinho Verde (young wine). Portugal also makes great olive oil, honey, and traditional spirits.

While you will find some of this at Christmas markets, these are our favorite stores dedicated to food and wine, where we recommend shopping for beautifully packaged gifts.

A Pérola do Bolhão

A beautiful store to browse, with everything from small gift sets of Port wine to full bottles. They have a great selection of sardines, patés, biscuits, and tea. Make this your first stop, as everything is beautifully packaged.

Location: R Formosa 279, open 9 am – 8 pm daily.

Loja das Conservas

You’ll find lots of canned sardines and fish patés here, as well as other food gifts, including wines, chocolates, olive oil, and a few home decor items like kitchen towels. Expect mostly traditional and organic products.

Location: R. de Mouzinho da Silveira 240, open 11 am – 7 pm daily.

Casa Chinesa

Don’t be fooled by the name; this hidden gem has been selling a mix of domestic and international food products since 1939.

You’ll find unique biscuits from Northern towns in beautiful boxes, fine wines and liquors, gourmet honey, and other gifty items, as well as more grocery-oriented products.

The older couple who run the store are very sweet and helpful. This store is on our list of grocery stores in Porto due to its great selection of dried spices.

Location: R. de Sá da Bandienra 343. Open 9 am to 7 pm daily, closed Sunday.

Mariquinhas

This is the most iconic brand of Ginja (cherry liqueur), made in Óbidos, Portugal (about 2 hours South of Porto). In the store, you can taste different versions, including the original, the Selected Harvest, and the Blended Reserves.

You’ll often see homemade versions of ginja at Christmas markets. It is served in a small chocolate cup, sometimes with a cherry in each cup. You drink the liquor, then eat the cup.

The original Mariquinhas starts at just 20€ for a 500 ml (18 oz) bottle with 12 chocolate cups, but goes up to over 200€ for an aged Blended Reserve.

Location: R de Alexandre Braga 135. Open daily 10:30 -13:00, and 14:00 – 19:30.

Bolhão Market

Bolhão Market is a traditional food market turned tourist destination. You’ll see tourists walking around sipping wine and tasting cheese platters. There are sections for pastries, meats, seafood, cheeses, canned goods, and more.

In the middle, you’ll find a lot of giftable items, from canned sardines to chocolates, to jars of olive oil and hot sauce.

This is a great place to taste a few traditional Portuguese dishes, including cheeses and bolinhos de bacalhau. R Formosa 322

El Corte Inglés Gourmet Market

This mega-department store has two supermarkets in its flagship location in Gaia. A regular grocery store that has a mix of domestic and international products, and an even more upscale gourmet store.

In the “Club del Gourmet”, you’ll find chocolates, olive oils, pates, teas, and more from around the world, often in gift-worthy packaging. This is a great place to shop for English biscuits, foie gras, expensive Italian Panettone, top-shelf olive oil, and more. There is also a separate “Garrafeira” for wines and spirits.

Location: Avenida da República 1435, Vila Nova de Gaia

Local Gift Stores

For higher-end Portuguese products, you’ll want to visit one of Porto’s gift stores. These stores are great for things like quality blankets and scarves, soaps, and traditional Portuguese tiles.

The famous Portuguese building tiles, called azulejos, make great gifts and souvenirs. We rounded up the best places to buy azulejos, from traditional styles to contemporary artistic styles.

A Vida Portuguesa

This small store, located in the base of the tower outside the Time Out Market, has a nicely curated selection of Portuguese-made items. From traditional throw rugs to soaps and journals, you may find the perfect gift here.

Location: Praça de Almeida Garrett, open daily 10 am – 11 pm.

Mercado 48

This boutique has a little bit of everything- artist’s prints, t-shirts, wallets, hair accessories, ceramics, and more. All from local artists, so you’re sure to be supporting the local economy.

Location: Rua da Conceição 48

Claus Porto

Claus Porto has been making soaps and fragrances in Porto since 1887. Their soaps come in beautiful, colorfully designed packages. You’ll also find fragrances, diffusers, and gift sets. Scents include cedar poinsettia, pine and eucalyptus, and lemon verbena.

The first floor of the store is the shop, on the second floor, you’ll find artifacts and exhibits about the history of the brand, and the third floor is reserved for private events.

Location: Rua das Flores, 22, open daily 10 am – 7 pm.

Castelbel Soaps

The relative newcomer to the soap business, started in just 2000, Castelbel Soaps (including the Portus Cale brand) are extremely popular. Their motto is “we don’t make soap, we make gifts”. You’ll find this brand in many boutiques, but you can visit the main store in downtown Porto.

Products include soaps, diffusers, candles, and lotions. Their sardine-shaped soap-on-a-rope scented with orange and rosemary makes a great stocking stuffer.

In their Olá Portugal Collection, you’ll find a “Porto” soap that smells of Camellias, with different scents for Lisboa (Basil) and the Algarve (Sea Salt and Orange)

For Christmas, they have a Peace Collection (pine scent), a Joy Collection (fig and spices), and a Love Collection (pomogranate).

Location: R. de Ferreira Borges s/n, open daily 10 am – 6 pm.

Loja da Tabúas

This home and kitchen store specializes in handmade wooden products, from serving boards to carved bowls. They also have knives, kitchen tools, and gourmet products, including wines and salts. Any wood item can be personalized with an engraving.

Location: Largo de São Domingos, 20

WOW

World of Wine has a series of stores within its main complex. Their Porto Region Across the Ages museum gift store has a lovely mix of housewares, puzzles, jewelry, and more just off the main indoor plaza.

There are several other stores around this same plaza, including Claus Porto, Casa Brasiliana, and Escovaria de Belomonte, which specializes in handmade brushes and brooms. You can see the full list of stores or shop online.

Christmas Gifts & Ornaments

These are the best stores to find Christmas-themed gifts, from Christmas ornaments to nutcrackers and angels.

You will also find Christmas decor in the large chain stores, including Hôma, as well as Continente and Auchan supermarkets.

In the malls, you will find several stores with ornaments, including Gato Preto and Maisons du Monde.

In our guide to buying a Christmas tree in Porto we go into more detail on where to buy lights for your tree and ornaments.

Bazar Paris

A toy store for most of the year, in November, this store turns into a winter wonderland full of ornaments, snow globes, nutcrackers, and other Christmas goodies. So much fun to browse!

Location: R. de Sá da Bandeira 190

Porto da Magia

This is the place to go for music boxes, snow globes, and other animated Christmas decor. Nostalgic wind-up Christmas decor, carousels, figurines, and more.

Location: R Formosa 207. Open 10 am – 7 pm daily.

El Corte Ingles

This large department store carries Christmas decor in its 5th floor home (casa) department. You’ll find ornaments, pieces for animated villages, nutcrackers, candle holders, and more.

This is the same floor as other home goods, so you’ll also see Christmas napkins, aprons, placemats, and other tablewares.

In front of the store, you’ll find a small “Santa’s Village” with food and drink huts, a small carousel, and a wooden house dedicated to ornaments and small decor items, especially for Christmas.

Location: Av. da República 1435, Vila Nova de Gaia; Exterior Mercado de Natal runs from November 14th to January 4th, 12 pm – 10 pm, closing early on holiday eves.

General Christmas Shopping

For more general Christmas shopping, for things like clothes, housewares and toys, you’ll want to head to malls, chain stores, and department stores.

Downtown, the pedestrian street of R. de Santa Catarina has many of these stores, including Oysho, Zara, Pull & Bear, Claire’s, and more.

There is a mall that’s easy to miss on this street (#312), which is called Via Catarina Shopping.

It includes Levi’s, Flying Tiger, H&M, Pandora, and more. There is also a Contiente Bom Dia at the back of the mall on the bottom floor, which is the largest grocery store in the area.

There are three major malls close to Porto- the first is Norte Shopping, which can be accessed from the Sete Bicas Metro Stop.

The second is Mar Shopping, which you’ll need to get to via car or bus. Mar is notable for being the location of the Porto Ikea.

The third is Arrábida Shopping Centre in Vila Nova de Gaia. You’ll need a car to get there.

At these malls, you’ll find ToysRUs, Zara, H&M, Primark, and more.

Each mall also has at least one large Auchan or Continente supermarket. These are “super-centers” similar to Target, which have home goods, toys, stationery, health & beauty, and an international food section.

There You Have It

These are our favorite places to discover unique Christmas gifts in Porto. With a mix of cozy markets, specialty shops, and boutiques, it’s easy to find gifts that feel thoughtful, local, and distinctly Portuguese.

From cork wallets and hand-painted ceramics to canned sardines and scented soaps, Porto offers plenty of options at every price point.

Whether you are here for a quick visit, a single holiday season, or longer, we hope these tips help you find fun gifts to share with family and friends.

Looking for a Christmas tree? Here’s where to buy it, and where to find the perfect ornaments to hang on it.

Don’t miss our list of Christmas concerts and events in Porto, and our full guide to Porto’s holiday markets.

We also have all the Porto Christmas traditions you don’t want to miss!